Java Means Coffee

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Posted by Leslie W., senior green coffee specialist

So, what’s with the name Blue Java? Well, blue refers to the color of the raw coffee beans before we roast them up. Most unroasted coffee beans have a greenish hue, but what is unusual about these raw beans is that they show distinctive deep blue-green color. In the cup, the coffee has herbaceous notes of sage and fresh earth and a sweet and syrupy mouthfeel.

Typically most of the coffees that come from Java are grown on large estates, but our Starbucks Reserve Blue Java Indonesia comes from groups of smallholder farmers from the east and west sides of the island, and is grown at altitudes ranging between 3,000 and 5,000 feet. Most of Java’s arabica production is centered on the Ijen Plateau at the eastern end of Java. But we discovered a handful of regions farmed by small holders on the north side of Bandung in West Java.

I love the fact that Java’s coffee traditions go back more than three centuries and that, in one way or another, we have featured coffees from Java off and on since 1971. The name Java is synonymous with coffee so in the spirit of these wonderful beans, go out and get a cup of Java!